Saudi FM and new UK counterpart discuss regional situation in phone call    Saudi Arabia, Syria sign 11 qualitative deals at Damascus Fair    Saudi skies witness rare Blood Moon total lunar eclipse    European leaders to visit US to discuss war in Ukraine, Trump says    South Korean worker describes panic and confusion during Hyundai ICE raid    The key to happiness    66% of 12.9 million extremist messages, monitored by Etidal in 90 days, incite violence    KSrelief launches relief and humanitarian projects during visit of Al-Rabeeah to Syria    OPEC+ to increase further oil output in October    Japan's Prime Minister resigns after election defeat pressures    Saudi Justice Ministry to host 2nd International Conference on Judicial Training in Riyadh    Over 47,000 transport violations detected during 340,000 TGA inspections in August    Amended Contractors Classification Law regulations set criteria for dividing major projects    Gamers frustrated as Hollow Knight: Silksong crashes stores on launch    'My mother was my shelter and storm': Arundhati Roy on her fierce new memoir    Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather Jr. set to meet in exhibition boxing match in 2026    HONOR to participate in Global Symposium for Regulators 2025 in Saudi Arabia    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series laptops redefine learning, creating and gaming    Al Hilal sign Turkish defender Yusuf Akcicek on €22m deal until 2029    Al Qadsiah sign German midfielder Julian Weigl to strengthen defensive midfield    Al Ahli secure Flamengo starlet Matheus Gonçalves in long-term deal through 2027    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Ex-general, diplomat vie to replace Olmert
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 30 - 08 - 2008

A party vote to choose a successor to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will be a close race that may stall Middle East diplomacy and affect the nuclear standoff with Iran.
The two top contenders in the Sept. 17 centrist Kadima party ballot are Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Israel's chief negotiator with the Palestinians, and Iranian-born Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz, a former army chief.
Livni, 50, a former Mossad spy who would be the first woman premier since Golda Meir in the 1970s, has the edge in polls, with one on Thursday giving her a 21 point lead over Mofaz.
But such surveys have been wrong before, especially on party primaries. Analysts see a more open race, amid signs of mounting support among Kadima members for Mofaz - seeking to become the first Israeli prime minister of non-European descent.
Whoever wins could take weeks to build a new government leaving Israel, and the US-brokered talks with Palestinians, in political limbo, with Olmert staying on as caretaker leader.
There is also a possibility that neither candidate would actually end up becoming prime minister.
Analysts say both Livni and Mofaz, lackluster speakers with limited political experience, may fail to piece together a new coalition among rival religious and left-wing parties.
If that happens, parliament could step in and call a snap election. That could be held early in the new year.
Olmert, who has pledged to step down after months of police investigations into graft allegations, would remain caretaker. But, like the outgoing US President George W. Bush, sponsor of the latest round of peace negotiations with the Palestinians, he would be a lame duck, bereft of lasting political clout.
“It's a part of a national soap opera that has taken hold of Israeli politics,” said political scientist Orit Galili-Zucker, of Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv, of the political stalemate spurred by Olmert's slow-motion departure.
Limited excitement
The Kadima contest has garnered limited public interest so far. Neither taciturn candidate seems capable of riveting an audience and only a fraction of Israelis can vote – an estimated 700,000 party members, one percent of the population.
There are no stickers or posters on public display, no jingles on the airwaves, little advertising and the candidates have kept their public rallies to a minimum.
When they do speak, both Livni and Mofaz tend to put a hawkish spin on their support hitherto for peacemaking with Palestinians, mindful their political futures are also clouded by the rising popularity of rightist leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
Opinion polls show Netanyahu, a former prime minister, could defeat either Livni or Mofaz if an election were held soon.
Mofaz touts his military record, a message with some resonance in a country that has seen half a dozen wars in the past 60 years. As defense minister several years ago, he oversaw moves to crush a Palestinian uprising in occupied territory.
He takes a tough stance on halting his native Iran's nuclear program, which the West says seems destined to produce atomic weapons, despite Iranian denials. Israel is widely assumed to have the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal at the moment.
If he becomes prime minister, Mofaz could escalate Israeli pressure for action to decide the nuclear standoff. He said recently an Israeli military strike on Iran may be “inevitable.”
As a boyhood immigrant from Tehran, Mofaz has built a strong following among fellow immigrants, many of whom are enthused by the prospect he could become the first Israeli of Sephardic, or Middle Eastern, origin to attain the job of prime minister.
Some Israelis blame the popularity of generals for a shortage of women candidates for high office. Livni may be the first woman in decades to overcome this disadvantage.
“Civilian-military” struggle
“There's a struggle between Israel's civilian and military needs,” Galili-Zucker, the political scientist, said. “There are those who say that if we are making peace, better a general should do it than a woman.” Livni climbed the political ranks as a confidante of former prime minister Ariel Sharon, joining him in bolting from Likud in 2005 to found Kadima when Sharon pulled troops out of Gaza.
As foreign minister, Livni is Israel's main negotiator with the Palestinians, but she has sought to toughen the image of peacemaker to compete against Mofaz, and in time, Netanyahu.
In remarks to reporters last week, Livni cautioned against racing to a peace deal with Palestinians as Washington wants to do by January, warning it could lead to possible violence if both sides' expectations weren't met.
Though Livni leads Mofaz in opinion polls, some analysts say a contingent of rightists in Kadima could help sway the vote in his favor. Israeli media say several thousand party members also belong to Netanyahu's rightist Likud party.
Another last-minute change could occur if either of two less popular candidates, Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter and Tourism Minister Meir Sheetrit - decide to drop out.
There is also a party rule requiring a candidate to poll at least 40 percent or a second round of voting must be held, a process which could in turn reshuffle the political deck.
“Although we see her leading in the polls, we have to prepare for the reasonable possibility Mofaz may win,” Galili-Zucker said. “It's going to be a close fight.” – Reuters __


Clic here to read the story from its source.